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In a bid to strengthen India’s position as far as use and deployment efforts of 5G technology, COAI, the apex association of major telecom service providers, mobile, internet, technology and digital services companies in the country, announced the formation of the ‘5G India Forum’. The Forum aims to bring together the different voices of the Indian Telecommunications, Mobility & Connectivity eco-system in order to become the leading force in the development of next generation communications. The Forum would facilitate synergising of national efforts and will play a significant role in shaping the strategic, commercial and regulatory development of the 5G ecosystem in India and aid in the Make in India & Digital India initiatives of the Hon’ble Prime Minister.

On the occasion of launching the Forum, Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI stated, “Adoption of 5G will require substantial investment in more downstream innovation than previous generations of communications systems. New business ecosystems are expected to emerge in which multiple players will meet, compete, collaborate and work together, at the same time. The 5G India Forum will serve as a strategic national initiative which will address key concerns of all stakeholders, seek inputs from private, public, small and large companies, to meet the challenge of making 5G a reality in India, at globally competitive timelines synergising with the world.”

“The 5G India Forum shall be a collaborative body under the aegis of COAI and it will be open for all members and diverse stakeholder groups. In addition, it will have, various Government agencies/departments, other Associations and Academia who will be requested to participate actively. These inputs from the Forum will be shared with the Government, International bodies and associations for shaping comprehensive global and domestic policy”.

The 5G India Forum will contribute to national policy on 5G along with Department of Telecommunication (DoT) and build consensus amongst all the entities involved, including private and government. The first priority will be to prepare a vision and a roadmap for the way forward. The Forum will also help identify vertical application domains, and use cases which would benefit from 5G and associated challenges as well as the societal, economic, environmental, business and technological benefits obtainable by an early adoption of 5G.

The 5G Forum will prepare input documents as well as a platform for facilitating continuous dialogue on key issues such as standardisation, technology development, spectrum availability, deployment scenarios and international engagements. It will support the creation of a venture like program to encourage eco-system players to develop 5G services. In addition to that, the Forum will collaborate with various international forums working on 5G. 5G is no longer a choice, it is an imperative for the future and India of tomorrow, especially when it comes to Internet of Things (IoT), M2M, connected homes, devices and a connected ecosystem. - Communications Today Bureau